While most people know that teen drug abuse isn't limited to high-crime neighborhoods, they may not realize that honor students are turning to drugs, too -- not to get high at parties but to get A's on tests. Y-Press spoke with three teens who have seen the inside of this unconventional substance abuse epidemic: Penelope, a recent graduate of Cathedral High School; Maynard, a student at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School; and Connie, who finished her sophomore year at a public school last year and attends a private school now.

The temptation of drugs and alcohol can start at an early age. According to a University of Michigan study, more than half of high school students will use illicit drugs by the time they graduate. Rachel and Chris are two teens who felt the allure of drugs and alcohol in high school. Now in treatment, they are overcoming their addictions with the help of their families and the Pathway Family Cente

"I had stolen CDs from this certain store over and over again, both under the influence and clean, and I'd never been caught. . . . "And I walked in with a bag of marijuana in my pocket to go steal a couple of CDs. I guess they were targeting us from the moment we walked in the door, me and a friend of mine. And as we were walking out, they pulled us to the side . . . and of course they searched o

When Carolyn Thurston was first approached to volunteer as a court advocate for children, she thought it would be temporary. But her volunteering developed into a full-time career. "I always noticed that the volunteer work that made me the happiest got my fingernails dirty. I was out there on the streets working with the problem, not just trying to work around the problem in an administrative way.

Sixteen-year-old Claire, who has had experience with the child advocate program, gives her side of the story. Her name has been changed to protect her identity. Life before After Claire's mother died when she was 2, she lived with her father, and they received Social Security benefits. However, he didn't work and was spending the money unwisely, including on drugs. To help support herself, she got

A lcoholism. In brief, the dictionary says it's a disease where a person drinks to excess. Sarah, a 13-year-old local student and daughter of an alcoholic father, goes a step further. "It's a disease where a person drinks too much. They get addicted to it, and they keep wanting it. It's just a disease based on lies." For many young people in similar situations, finding support can be difficult. Al

"It's like I lost all control of my life. It's like one time and after that it was just like that was my normal routine in life." 16-year-old inmate at juvenile correctional facility, on her methamphetamine use ou know how you have your favorite toy and you just want to play with that favorite toy like all the time? Well, that's how meth was with me." So says Hazel, an imprisoned 16-year-old, on t

M ethamphetamine provided James with a high without the "downer" side effects of marijuana and alcohol. "Say we went to a party on the weekend or something like that, you know, we'd get drunk and everything, then I'd crash. I'd just smoke some meth and I'd be up and speeding and ready to go. We'd be up all night playing video games or talking on the phone or something like that." Meth also offered